Asantehene Nullifies Juasohene's Enstoolment
Asantehene - Otumfuo Osei Tutu II The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has nullified the enstoolment of Barima Safrotwie Sarpong II as Juasohene.
This was after Otumfuo Osei Tutu had established that the Juabenhene, Nana Otuo Siriboe II, who is the Overlord of the Juaso Stool, had not gone through the proper traditional rites in enstooling the retired Bank of Ghana senior official, known in private life as Mr G.M. Sarpong, in 1998.
The Asantehene, however, indicated that Barima Sarpong still had the opportunity to reapply for selection and enstoolment after the kingmakers and the Royal Family had implemented the directives he had given them towards the enstoolment of a new chief.
The nullification came barely two weeks after the Ashanti King had declared Nana Owusu Achiaw Prempeh destooled as Juasohene at a meeting of the Asanteman Council at the Manhyia Palace.
Nana Achiaw Prempeh and Barima Sarpong were involved in a protracted dispute over who was the legitimate chief of the town.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu’s decision to destool Nana Achiaw Prempeh affirmed the one taken by the late Otumfuo Opoku Ware II in 1994, after the Juasohene had refused to attend an invitation the late King extended to him to discuss the Juaso chieftaincy dispute
At the earlier meeting at Manhyia on April 5, 2012 during which Nana Achiaw Prempeh was destooled, the Asantehene had deferred the decision on Barima Sarpong to a later date to enable the parties to present their sides of the matter before the Asanteman Council.
When the issue finally came before the council last Monday, Otumfuo Osei Tutu said Asanteman had special laid down traditional rites to follow in the enstoolment of a chief.
Unfortunately, however, the Juabenhene failed to go that line and, as a result, the purported enstoolment of Barima Sarpong on September 10, 1998 could not be accepted.
The Asantehene said, for instance, that he could not agree with the refusal of the Juabenhene to acknowledge the role of some of the kingmakers in the enstoolment process.
He also said there were doubts over the legitimacy of the late Prof Patrick Twumasi as the Abusuapanin of the Oyoko Royal Family of Juaso during the enstoolment of Barima Sarpong.
“I realise that the installation did not go through the right processes and I, therefore, declare it null and void,” Otumfuo Osei Tutu said.
He also did not accept the claim by Prof Ken Attafuah that he was the incumbent Abusuapanin of the Oyoko Royal Family and directed the elders of the Royal gates to sit down to settle on one Abusuapanin to lead the process towards the enstoolment of a
new Juasohene.
The Asantehene indicated that in spite of the decision, Barima Sarpong was free to reapply for selection and enstoolment, since his royal status was unquestionable.
In March, 2005, the National House of Chiefs decided that Barima Sarpong’s name be entered in the National Register of Chiefs as the Juasohene after winning a case through the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs.